2012 has shaped up to be a pretty epic year for me and my little business. I could never have imagined all the awesome things that January 1st would open the door to. I've had an amazing flood of features, so many that I've literally lost count. I'm thankful and blown away by each one. These two however, landed in my mailbox. Chatelaine is one of the top Canadian magazines and Readers Digest is pretty high up on the most circulated magazines list both here and in Canada. Both of them recently featured my wooden spoon project.

Amazingly fun to see MY work and MY name and MY website in print...in some pretty popular magazines to boot.

I already have some more features lined up for 2013 but I can't mention those yet...but just as big and awesome.

I've also been recently featured on Babble, Wired and so many other fun places.

Moon dough is something that I bet many of us MEAN to do but never get around to. Let me tell you...get around to it while the weather is warm enough to hose your kids off because, while this will win you major mom points, it is an OUTSIDE activity. Unless you are one of those awesome moms without OCD (or CDO) tendencies who don't mind messy, messes...then you are awesome and can have fun with this year round.

All you need is 8 cups of flour and 1 cup of baby oil. Mix together. Play (outside)!.

That's it. I doubled this recipe and the boys played for hours. There was even enough left over when they were done for me to put away for another day.

Something about the texture just makes you want to pat it, run your fingers through it and play with it.

Bonus is that your kids will smell good when they're done.

But like I said...it's messy. Good news is that it hoses off well.

Make it happen today! Your kids will love it and you'll get major mom points!

You can click HERE to read the first five parts. This one is maybe my favorite...not because it's huge and grandiose but for me, it's personal and speaks to a desire in my heart that few more than the Lord knew about.

Many people will tell you that God is not as alive and active today as He once was. That "back then" He did mighty works and miracles but that now we are kind of just mucking along until Jesus comes back. And I would say that is just not true. I think we just have to fight a little harder to find the details in His work because we are so very good at clogging up our days, hours and minutes with "busy" so that others will notice our importance. As a stay at home mom, I know I feel the need to work extra hard and feel extreme guilt if I sit too long on the couch...I feel the need to be able to recall the days events to make sure I "measure up"...to whomever happens to ask. Not that anyone recently in my life has done that, nor would I expect them to but you know what I mean...busyness becomes our days work and it sullies the details of what we should see and do.

Not a day goes by that our Creator does not paint us a new sunrise, with new flowers and things to look at. Not a moment goes by that the wind does not blow through a grain field providing a grand little show for us. The waves never stop their awesome splendor. The clouds are ever moving and changing. You couldn't recreate the perfect day if you tried because every single ones is different. God is ever trying to show us how much He loves us by giving us new beauty to gaze upon every day. Much like our children do with their drawing of this or that.

Sadly, many of those awesome days go by without notice because the busy becomes too important. I'm thankful for the awareness of simplicity. Of days with no plans that unfold at the whim of friends who come to call or unexpected phone calls. It's these slower paced kind of days that I find I notice more of what God is bringing to show me.

For as long as I can remember, I've loved a garden. To plant a seed and watch it grow. I'm fascinated by what can happen over night or after a strong summer storm. At our house in Charlottesville, we were mostly shade. I tried every "traditional" spot in our yard to grow veggies and finally, I told Doug that if we lived there any longer, I was digging up the grass to claim the one sunny spot that would grow a veggie garden. While we were praying to move, it was my mostly secret prayer to be moved in time to plant a veggie garden, to have a place to plant it and sunshine in abundance. I've always wanted beds of sunflowers and daisies and tomatoes and anything else I could grow.

I prayed that prayer and tucked it away.

I bought seeds in good faith knowing that there was a time limit. For a long time it looked like we would be able to move into our new house well past the date where it would be advisable to plant anything. But at least I had next year. Right?

Wouldn't you know that we were able to move in in record time? Weeks before the realtor thought would be possible.

June 15th was our move in day. And the latest advised time for planting on the back of every pack of seeds I bought? Mid June. Otherwise known as June 15th.

A small detail but huge at the same time. Easily missed and lost in shuffle if I had let it be.
Proof that my Father hears the desires of my heart and gives me good gifts.

Not only do we have beds of daisies and sunflowers and veggies to our eyeballs...but there isn't a spot in our yard that isn't full sun.

You can click HERE to read the first four parts. This is such a firm and fun testament that God does work in our day to day, we just need to stop and look.

So. Doug had a new job. In a town that was 2 1/2 hours away. When he started that job we had no where to live in our new town (which happened to be the place we loved most of all!!). Doug lived with his brother for a month and more while the boys and I started packing, finishing up the school year and got ready to move out of Charlottesville.

**As a little side note...remember how I said that Doug didn't get any time off...we had to cancel or alter plans because he could NEVER get a day off? When Doug quit Target he had over 7-8 weeks of leave available. We weren't sure if he would lose that or what. God took care of it and Doug was paid for EVERY vacation day and TOOK every personal day. When Doug put in his two weeks, that he had every intention of working out, they actually told him "We would rather you DIDN'T work it and use up your personal days". WHAT?!?! God is crazy awesome. He gave us back all that time we had lost. :)

Back to the housing stuff...

The place we now live is a college town. That makes finding a home for a FAMILY a little tricky. There just isn't much in the way of houses advertised for rent to families. I scoured each and every website I could get my hands on including every realty website, craigslist and anything else I could think of. I would find something that looked good and then something would pop up wrong with it. One house shared a street with several sexual predators. Another was cute but in a terrible part of town. Another was in a school district that I knew better than to send my kids to (I worked there for a couple years). Another had a weird landlord situation. On and on we went. I looked at every possible house for rent in the area. Nothing. So I got the brilliant idea to start emailing realtors of houses that were for SALE that we liked. Not that we wanted to buy but I knew that the housing market was in bad shape...so maybe we could find someone willing to rent to us.

I got rejection after rejection but I felt the need to keep asking. And ask I did. Until one day...I got a response from a realtor (who turned out to be the number ONE realtor in our new area - coincidence? I think not!) who said that he may have an investor interested in buying a house we had asked about and renting it out.

Guess what? I stopped looking for houses. That day. I KNEW this was our house. I just knew God would work out all of the details. We went out of town for Mother's day and didn't really give finding a house a second thought.

I left the realtor our number and went about our business. A week or two down the road he called us and said that his investor had not gotten back to him but then he said something that I will never forget. "There is just something about you guys, I think I will buy this house myself and rent it to you". And he did. Doug saw the house and agreed to a two year lease.

I never saw this house until the day our moving truck pulled up out front. The house is awesome. It's more than I could have ever hoped for based on what we saw for rent around here.

Every day that we are here, I cannot believe the blessings that have been absolutely POURED out on us.

I've been asked by BlogHer and Huggies to take some walks down memory lane and explore some (what I think will be) FUN subjects about babies and having them and getting ready for them and all the fun stuff that goes with THEM! I volunteered for this series for selfish reasons. I think it will be a great way to document some thoughts and feelings that maybe I haven't before but should have. I hope you will enjoy them, too!

Oh...parenthood is full of all sorts of daunting tasks, isn't it? I mean, you are singlehandedly in charge of shaping a human being into a positive and meaningful member of society...whatever that happens to mean to you. From day one of pregnancy you are now fully in charge of making decisions and choices on everything from diaper brands to pre-schools to what kind of diet your child will have. And that's if you have a healthy, typical child. I can't imagine the immense pressure a mother must face if she has a child who has health issues on top of the run of the mill parenting pressures and options. Outside of my husband, who is always a willing and awesome parenting teammate, our most valuable asset to our overall success has been our pediatrician.

I feel that, because we did our homework before walking into the office, we were blessed with an amazing team of pediatricians that genuinely cared about and wanted to help not only our kids but our family as well.

And by "homework" this is what I mean:

Like all things these days, we started with Google. Googling pediatricians in your area will pull up the good and the bad about them. Many sites offer consumer reviews about specific doctors and practices. I don't know about you, but I trust another mother's opinion more than a doctor's peer.

You can also ask around. Post a question on your Facebook page to get recommendations from your friends and family that are local to you. This is a great way to start and get a nice list of names to Google and research.

Once you get in the office, don't let that be the end of getting your needs met. We were extremely blessed with great doctors and here are some ways we could tell they were great doctors...

We could be honest with what we were dealing with. I could always tell our doctor anything and never felt judged or scolded like some of my friends experienced. I could come out and say, "Moses will only eat yogurt right now," or "he had a fever last week but I didn't want to bring him in."

Our doctors listened and offered feedback when needed.

Doug and I are not typical parents in that we hardly ever take our kids to the doctor...we feel like the doctor's office is there when there is a genuine need for help and not just to quench our fears. Both of our boys combined have been to non-well baby visits maybe 6-7 times total in their lives and 2-3 of those times have been when I needed reassurance from the doctors that it was OK to not bring them in with every single illness. It meant a lot to us to have doctors that we could say, "I just don't feel like it's good to run them in here JUST because they have x, y or z. Is that ok?" and to have a doctor that not only agreed but supported that decision.

You need a doctor that will listen, offer support, experience and intelligence, and be non-judgemental. They also need to be available and focused on you during your appointments. Is there anything worse than a doctor that is trying to rush through your appointment?

Until you find those things in your doctor, you need to keep looking. Don't be afraid to keep office hopping until you find the right one...it will be worth it in the end!

Sadly, summer has begun to slip through our fingers...ever so slowly. You can barely feel it...but it's there. August starts soon and that's the sign that summer has opened the door to it's exit. Thankfully, life in the south affords us a couple more months of warm weather...into late October if we're really lucky. With Moses starting kindergarten in a couple of weeks we will soon miss these lazy summer days where to the agenda for the day is set by whomever stops by or gives us a call. In the meantime we are taking the days for all they are worth...hence the lag of blogging and sewing.

I manage to keep up with baking. Doug's new team of employees are enjoying the benefits of "what I made for Mondays" now and so are all of our friends and family. For the most part, I've been sending in old faithful recipes but I soon hope to start turning out some new things. In the meantime, enjoy these DELICIOUS bars that I made for a family dinner recently. They are pretty amazing.

2. Cream butter, sugar, and salt with an electric mixer. Mix in flour
until just incorporated.Press dough into the bottom of the pan.
3. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until slightly golden brown.

For the filling:
1. Whisk sugar, egg whites, egg, lemon juice and zest, flour, and
salt in a large bowl.
2. Pour raspberries into a sieve and press through
to extract all the pulp and juices.
3. Whisk into lemon mixture and pour
into crust.
4. Bake for 30-35 minutes until filling is completely set. Let
cool completely. Cut into small squares. Top with cool whip or freshly made whipped cream!

I've been asked by BlogHer and Huggies to take some walks down memory lane and explore some (what I think will be) FUN subjects about babies and having them and getting ready for them and all the fun stuff that goes with THEM! I volunteered for this series for selfish reasons. I think it will be a great way to document some thoughts and feelings that maybe I haven't shared before but should have. I hope you will enjoy them, too!

Today is all about how to get your hubby involved in the whole pregnancy...which may seem tricky considering that you are doing all the "real" work. Maybe I'm part of a couple that isn't the norm...but involving my husband in my pregnancy was not a difficult task. I think it all comes down to communication. First, you have to communicate to your husband what your needs are (always! But especially during this time) and have your husband communicate with you his needs and the particular things about the pregnancy that he wants to be a part of.

Now clearly, he can't carry the baby but there are loads of ways your husband can help. You can start by helping to feel the baby kick as soon as you think he would be able to...nothing confirms the fact that a baby is coming quite like feeling those little kicks. Also, while it wasn't really our thing, some husbands enjoy talking to the baby, too.

Your husband might also feel involved by caring for you! My husband was always quick to offer (or oblige a request for) a foot or back rub. He was also great at a craving run! Pizza at 10pm? He's on it. An ultra-mega-huge fountain soda because everyone in a 20-mile- radius knows YOU? He did it with joy. Having someone care for you in these ways benefits you both--you feel loved and he feels like he is (and IS) providing a great service to you.

Another huge way your husband can be involved is with baby prep! Ask him his opinions on things like cribs, clothes, swings, strollers, etc. Take him with you to register for all those fun baby gifts. Make sure you value his opinion and take his suggestions seriously. The more you make your husband feel like this is his baby too, the more he will feel involved in your pregnancy.

Another good way to get the hubby in on the "action" is to take him to your doctor appointments with you! In both of my pregnancies I think Doug missed two or three appointments. It's such a fun time, especially when you get to hear the heartbeat and see the baby. Encourage your husband to ask questions too...though I am pretty sure that Doug never said a word. I always joked with him about introducing him to the doctor as 'my mute husband, Doug'. And for the record, I always made Doug sit up by my head for those appointments so if that freaks your husband out, you can suggest he do the same.

Those are just a few ways you can include your husband in your pregnancy. Like I said, communication is the key! Ask your husband what he would like to do, participate in, choose, etc. Listen to and be gentle with his thoughts and feelings too!

I am one of those people who sees food as a friend. I love food. Cheese fries are one of my absolute FAVORITES and sadly for the first 32 years and 11 months of my life I could only get them at restaurants. And then it was hit or miss.

I found a pin on pinterest to cheese fries that promised not to disappoint. It KIND OF disappointed but I was able to doctor it up enough to make it A WINNER!!! That is why I am not linking to my original pin...I don't want to hurt someones feelings when I say that my cheese fries are way better. :)

Here is what you need.

Approx five potatoes. Washed. Cut into thick fries.

Coat with olive oil in a bowl (use approx 1/4c). Drain off excess oil.
Place in a pan lined with foil and sprinkle with seasoned salt, salt and pepper.

I LOVE the non-stick foil for jobs like these...totally worth the extra $$.

Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for approx 40 minutes. Or until fries are tender.

When fries are ready, top with
1- 1/2cup of cheddar cheese (I use extra sharp)
3/4c to 1c of mozzarella cheese.
Top with real bacon bits (1/2c).
Add 1/4c or so of green onions.

My favorite part (ok one of my favorite parts) of living in a new house is finding new ways to organize and make life flow a little better. Every day I tackle a new area. As I was sitting in front this cabinet, trying to find a way to arrange everything so that you can still SEE everything, I remembered my collection of tension rods hanging out in the garage.

I grabbed one of the heavy duty ones (meant for shower curtains maybe?), put it high enough to create a second layer of goods but low enough to get the handle of the squirt bottles over with ease and TA-DA!! A pseudo shelf that made it possible to arrange all my cleaning supplies in a way I can easily see what I have!

You can read the first four parts by clicking HERE. It will catch you up to Fall of 2011 or so. You probably will need to read that first before any of this will make any sense and to get a clearer picture of how awesome what God did was and is!

So there we were. Mucking through life. The summer of 2011 set up a chain reaction that would be the straw that broke the camels back. We had been planning to go to New Jersey to celebrate Doug's grandpas 90th birthday. Almost ALL of Doug's family (extended as well) was going to be there. For a while Doug was told he would be able to go. So we planned on it. Then Target changed their minds. Talk about serious disappointment. Wanting my boys to get as much time with their great-grandparents and grandparents and aunts and uncles as they could...I volunteered to take them by myself. Kind of a big deal for a seven car ride. At least to me.

That was one of many pebbles that started the ball rolling. Then Doug worked almost every single day in the month of August. LONG 12-14 hour days. We barely saw him. It was hard. It was almost like someone was making us uncomfortable to get the hint that we could finally DO something about it.

Now Doug is a hard worker. He does not shy away from working hard to take care of his family. He also loves his family. We all just wanted a balance for our lives so believe me when I say, this was not bad because of all the hard work. Doug continued to bust his butt because he is a man of integrity that NEEDS to do the best job he can do. When he took over the position that he was doing their scores were all red, they were multiple trucks behind, there was a huge turnover and the process as a whole was a mess. When he left some of his employees cried, his scores were some of the highest in the COMPANY, and he was never behind on trucks. He worked hard.

So there was that. We made it through August. Then September and October weren't much better. I went to Blacksburg with the boys so that at least SOME of us could have a good Thanksgiving. In all of our years together we hardly got to spend ANY time with family for ANY holiday. Doug was always having to work the day of or early the next morning. At some point that Fall I think we both knew that post Christmas would bring changes. Our nephew was born in Blacksburg and that only increased our desire to return home even more.

So we made it through Christmas. Made just a bit bitter by the fact that for the first year ever since working at Target, Doug gave each of his coworkers gifts (that I made and were awesome!) and barely got a single card in return. Not that we give to get but it was just crazy how every other year they ALL gave gifts to each other and THIS year, Doug was excluded. We took it as a reminder to move on.

As soon as the decorations were put away, Doug and I decided that it was time. It felt right. We started getting his resume together and polished up. Then we pimped that sucker out to anyone who would look at it. Over the next two to three months we must have applied to over a hundred jobs. Everyday I would look for jobs for Doug to apply to, then when he came home from work that is what we would do. Day in and day out. We agreed not to give up until he had a new job. We didn't want to repeat the last year. We prayed and asked others to pray.

We would not give up.

In the meantime, I got a message from a friend I've known for years out of the blue. She asked if we were interested in renting out our house. A thought that we had not talked about out loud for some time. This friend had a sister that was looking for something more affordable and family friendly. Turns out they loved our house, agreed to a two year lease and we would be homeless as of July 20th. At this point we rented out our house in complete faith. We felt like God dropped these people in our laps and wanted to see how much we would trust Him to take care of the little details, you know, like a job.

Then one day we applied to a batch of five to seven jobs. Doug looked at me and said "This will sound crazy, but I think my new job was in that pile we just applied to". And you know what? He got a request for a phone interview from one of those jobs. And we stopped looking immediately. Like that day. We knew this was HIS job. We never applied for one more job.

That was the only job Doug interviewed for. There were some other call backs but Doug turned them down because they didn't seem quite right.

God didn't stop there. Turns out that Doug was hired without having a position for him, they just liked them that much. He also got a very handsome relocation stipend, after being told firmly that they didn't do that kind of thing. Instead of going into debt by moving, we moved debt free (not that we had much debt to begin with) and with a nice savings account for the first time in our married lives.

God can do anything he wants to do but I think he loves to surprise us when we show we trust him. You know, like renting out your house before anything else happen that would tell you that you should and doing things that the world would say you are crazy for doing.

I think I'll stop there for now...next segment (hopefully sooner than this one was in coming!) on how we got our awesome house.

Afraid of making pickles? No need! I found this AWESOME easy recipe (via Bobbly Flay).

My friend Joanna gave Moses this 2lb pickle the other day and I thought that now was the time we tried it! Moses was psyched! This was a perfect opportunity to let him help measure and talk with him about how many different foods we can grow ourselves. He loved every minute of it...include the eating part. The pickles tasted delicious and fresh!

Are you like me and find that summer skin care is a tricky thing? With all the sunscreen, sun exposure, pools and salt water, it can be a challenge to keep skin looking fresh, moisturized and smooth and not like a vintage leather handbag. So when Dove and Blogher asked me to review Dove's new Visible Care Body Wash I was eager to give it a try. I was sent their Softening Crème Body Wash which, so far has proven to be the perfect antidote to chlorinated pool water. :)

As a rule, I am mostly a low maintenance kind of girl so if I can take care of my skin a little extra in the summer time when it needs it while I am doing something I have to do anyway (shower!) than it's a win-win! I like to take care of myself and my skin, I just don't like it to take all day. It's been nice this last week to use the new Dove line and be able to skip my usual moisturizing step. The body wash is thick and nourishing enough that I haven't needed to slather on lotion post shower nearly as much as I normally do.

In the summer, as with, well, anytime you're a mom, your time is stretched to it's limits. If you're like me, your needs get put on the back burner while you tend to peanut butter and jelly, poolside living, sunscreen coverage, rash guards and life on the gogogo! It's during these time crunches that it doesn't take much to make me feel like I'm doing a little something for me. A five minute pedicure, an iced coffee, a little leave in conditioner for my chlorinated hair, or a luxurious body wash are all I need for a little refueling. I'm thankful for products that feel a little luxurious but aren't ridiculous in price or effort. :)

Overall, this is a product that I liked! I would buy it again and use it long term. There is also a "skin firming" edition of this line...goodbye cellulite? Maybe I'll try that one next!

Want a little extra way to pamper yourself this summer?

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Welcome to my lofty dream of providing you with 40!!! fun activities
you can do with your kids! Many at the drop of a hat! I bet for many
of these you will have the materials you need on hand or can find them
at the dollar store or on the cheap at the local craft store! This list
will contain simple, cheap and FUN crafts or activities that ANYONE can
do! And better yet, they will be kid tested and approved!

If you would like to be a guest blogger in this series email me at ricracandpompoms @ gmail . com!

thank you, crystal for inviting me over to your little space on the internet!!
i’m honored to be guest posting on little bit funky today.
you are an inspiration on so many levels…this is a dream come true for me.

ok, enough sappiness.
let’s get on to why we’re all here.

if your house is anything like mine this summer then you have a few kids that are semi-self-sufficient and then you have a preschooler who needs constant attention and direction {in fun activity to keep her busy.}

this idea is not a new one.
i first saw it on instagram from someone who first saw it on pinterest…
it’s so simple.
and it’s one of those crafts/activities that’ll have you thinking “why didn’t i think of that?”